Hairywood: Awards contenders and their facial hair

The Weinstein Comany

"The Master"

The performance: Many wondered whether Hoffman's 'stache could make it on its own after being paired so often with its chin-whiskers partner. Not only does the mustache make it solo, but it also transforms Hoffman's mug into that of a debonair man, a scoundrel, if you will. Hoffman's writer-doctor-nuclear physicist-theoretical philosopher could never have been so hopelessly inquisitive, so effortlessly charming without its splendor.

What the critics say: "The hopes and fears projected upon 'The Master' by an audience thirsting for fresh cinematic water cooler discussion are as thick and luscious as the mustache Philip Seymour Hoffman sports in the film."

— Robert Saucedo, Inside Pulse

"The Master"

The performance: Many wondered whether Hoffman's 'stache could make it on its own after being paired so often with its chin-whiskers partner. Not only does the mustache make it solo, but it also transforms Hoffman's mug into that of a debonair man, a scoundrel, if you will. Hoffman's writer-doctor-nuclear physicist-theoretical philosopher could never have been so hopelessly inquisitive, so effortlessly charming without its splendor.

What the critics say: "The hopes and fears projected upon 'The Master' by an audience thirsting for fresh cinematic water cooler discussion are as thick and luscious as the mustache Philip Seymour Hoffman sports in the film."

The performance: Acting opposite Daniel Day-Lewis is a herculean task. Acting opposite Day-Lewis' iconic Lincoln beard? Fuhgeddaboudit! And yet, the epic facial hair McGill sports as Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton not only rises to the occasion but it also upon occasion surpasses its better-known counterpart. Sure, Lincoln, as Stanton famously said, "belongs to the ages." But as ZZ Top would tell you, so does Stanton's beard.

What the critics say: "Enough important facial hair to make the young beard farmers of 21st century Brooklyn weep tears of envy."

— A.O. Scott, the New York Times

"Lincoln"

The performance: Acting opposite Daniel Day-Lewis is a herculean task. Acting opposite Day-Lewis' iconic Lincoln beard? Fuhgeddaboudit! And yet, the epic facial hair McGill sports as Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton not only rises to the occasion but it also upon occasion surpasses its better-known counterpart. Sure, Lincoln, as Stanton famously said, "belongs to the ages." But as ZZ Top would tell you, so does Stanton's beard.

What the critics say: "Enough important facial hair to make the young beard farmers of 21st century Brooklyn weep tears of envy."